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The Lord of the Rings (film series)
}} | screenplay = }} | based on = | starring = | music = Howard Shore | cinematography = Andrew Lesnie | editing = *Michael Horton *Jamie Selkirk }} | production companies = | distributor = New Line Cinema | released = | | }} | runtime = '''Total (3 films):' | country = | language = English | budget = Total (3 films): $281 million | gross = Total (3 films): $2.919 billion }} The Lord of the Rings is a film series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, it is an international venture between New Zealand and the United States. The films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean. Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, along with Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin and the wizard Gandalf, unite to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in the War of the Ring in order to aid Frodo by weakening Sauron's forces. The three films were shot simultaneously and entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand from 11 October 1999 until 22 December 2000, with pick-up shots done from 2001 to 2004. It was one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with a budget of $281 million. An extended edition of each film was released on home video a year after its theatrical release. The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential film trilogies ever made. It was a major financial success and is among the highest-grossing film series of all time with over $2.9 billion in worldwide receipts. Each film was critically acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of their 30 Academy Award nominations. Films The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King Cast and crew Cast The following is a list of cast members who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in the extended version of the films. Crew Production at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow.]] Jackson began storyboarding and screenwriting the series with Christian Rivers, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens in 1997 and assigned his crew to begin designing Middle-earth at the same time. He then hired long-time collaborators Jim Rygiel and Richard Taylor to lead Weta Workshop on five major design elements: armour, weapons, prosthetic makeup, creatures, and miniatures. They were also visual effects supervisors. In November 1997, famed Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe joined the project; most of the imagery in the films is based on their various illustrations. Production designer Grant Major was charged with the task of converting Lee and Howe's designs into architecture, creating models of the sets, while Dan Hennah worked as art director, scouting locations and organizing the building of sets. Principal photography for all three films was conducted concurrently in many locations within New Zealand's conservation areas and national parks. Filming took place between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000 with Andrew Lesnie serving as director of photography. Pick-up shoots were conducted annually from 2001 to 2004. The series was shot at over 150 different locations, with seven different units shooting, as well as soundstages around Wellington and Queenstown. Along with Jackson directing the whole production, other unit directors included John Mahaffie, Geoff Murphy, Fran Walsh, Barrie M. Osborne, Rick Porras, and any other assistant director, producer, or writer available. Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens did not write each film to correspond exactly to its respective book, opting instead to write a three-part adaptation with some sequences missing, some sequences created from scratch, and some sequences moved from one area to another regardless of its placement in the books. To allow the story to be clearer for viewers, Jackson takes a more chronological approach to the story than did Tolkien. During shooting, the screenplays continued to evolve, in part due to contributions from cast members looking to further explore their characters. Each film had the benefit of a full year of post-production time before its respective December release, often finishing in October–November, with the crew immediately going to work on the next film. To avoid pressure, Jackson hired a different editor for each film. John Gilbert worked on the first film, Michael J. Horton on the second and Jamie Selkirk on the third. Daily rushes would often last up to four hours, with scenes being done throughout 1999–2002 for the rough (4½ hours) assemblies of the films. In total, 1828 km (six million feet) of film was edited down to the 11 hours and 26 minutes (686 minutes) of extended running time. Music , composer of the music of the films.]] Howard Shore composed, orchestrated, conducted, and produced the trilogy's music. He was hired in August 2000 and visited the set, and watched the assembly cuts of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King. In the music, Shore included many (85 to 110) leitmotifs to represent various characters, cultures, and places – the largest catalogue of leitmotifs in the history of cinema, surpassing – for comparison – that of the entire ''Star Wars'' film series. For example, there are multiple leitmotifs just for the hobbits and the Shire. Although the first film had some of its score recorded in Wellington, virtually all of the trilogy's score was recorded in Watford Town Hall and mixed at Abbey Road Studios. Jackson planned to advise the score for six weeks each year in London, though for The Two Towers he stayed for twelve. The score is primarily played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (ranging from 93 to 120 players throughout the recording), London Voices, London Oratory School Schola boy choir, and many artists such as Ben Del Maestro, Enya, Renée Fleming, James Galway, Annie Lennox and Emilíana Torrini contributed. Even actors Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto (extended cuts only for the latter two), and Peter Jackson (for a single gong sound in the second film) contributed to the score. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens served as librettists, writing lyrics to various music and songs, which David Salo translated into Tolkien's languages. The third film's end song, "Into the West", was a tribute to a young filmmaker Jackson and Walsh befriended named Cameron Duncan, who died of cancer in 2003. Shore composed a main theme for The Fellowship rather than many different character themes, and its strength and weaknesses in volume are depicted at different points in the series. On top of that, individual themes were composed to represent different cultures. Infamously, the amount of music Shore had to write every day for the third film increased dramatically to around seven minutes. The music for the series turned out to be a success and has been voted best movie soundtrack of all time for the six years running, passing Schindler's List (1993), Gladiator (2000), Star Wars (1977), and Out of Africa (1985) respectively. Soundtracks Reception Box office The trilogy's online promotional trailer was first released on 27 April 2000, and set a new record for download hits, registering 1.7 million hits in the first 24 hours of its release. The trailer used a selection from the soundtrack for Braveheart and The Shawshank Redemption among other cuts. In 2001, 24 minutes of footage from the series, primarily the Moria sequence, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and was very well received. The showing also included an area designed to look like Middle-earth. The Fellowship of the Ring was released 19 December 2001. It grossed $47 million in its U.S. opening weekend and made around $871 million worldwide. A preview of The Two Towers was inserted just before the end credits near the end of the film's theatrical run. A promotional trailer was later released, containing music re-scored from the film Requiem for a Dream. The Two Towers was released 18 December 2002. It grossed $62 million in its first U.S. weekend and out-grossed its predecessor with $926 million worldwide. The promotional trailer for The Return of the King was debuted exclusively before the New Line Cinema film Secondhand Lions on 23 September 2003. Released 17 December 2003, its first U.S. weekend gross was $72 million, and became the second film, after Titanic (1997), to gross over $1 billion worldwide. Critical and public response The Lord of the Rings trilogy received universal acclaim and is constantly ranked among the greatest film trilogies ever made.Sources that refer to The Lord of the Rings being praised as one of the greatest film trilogies ever made include: * * * Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "the trilogy will not soon, if ever, find its equal", while Todd McCarthy of Variety described the films as "one of the most ambitious and phenomenally successful dream projects of all time". The Fellowship of the Ring was voted the greatest fantasy movie of all time in a reader's poll conducted by American magazine Wired in 2012, while The Two Towers and The Return of the King placed fourth and third respectively. The series appears in the Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association: Top 10 Films, ''Time'' s All-Time 100 Movies, and James Berardinelli's Top 100. In 2007, USA Today named the series as the most important films of the past 25 years. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Bringing a cherished book to the big screen? No sweat. Peter Jackson's trilogy — or, as we like to call it, our preciousssss — exerted its irresistible pull, on advanced Elvish speakers and neophytes alike."Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (11 December 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84 Paste named it one of the 50 Best Movies of the Decade (2000–2009), ranking it at No. 4. In another Time magazine list, the series ranks second in "Best Movies of the Decade". In addition, six characters and their respective actors made the list of 'The 100 Greatest Movie Characters', also compiled by Empire, with Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of Aragorn ranking No. 15, Ian McKellen's portrayal of Gandalf ranking No. 30, Ian Holm's portrayal of Bilbo Baggins (shared with Martin Freeman for his portrayal of the same character in The Hobbit films) ranking No. 61, Andy Serkis' portrayal of Gollum ranking No. 66, Sean Astin's portrayal of Samwise Gamgee ranking No. 77, and Orlando Bloom's portrayal of Legolas ranking No. 94. Accolades was nominated for multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.]] The three films together were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards, of which they won 17, both records for any movie trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring earned 13 nominations, the most of any film at the 74th Academy Awards, winning four; The Two Towers won two awards from six nominations at the 75th Academy Awards; The Return of the King won in every category in which it was nominated at the 76th Academy Awards, setting the current Oscar record for the highest clean sweep, and its 11 Academy Awards wins ties the record held by Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997). The Return of the King also became only the second sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture (after The Godfather Part II). As well as Academy Awards, each film in the series won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the MTV Movie Award for Movie of the Year, and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. The first and third films also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film. The New York Film Critics Circle awarded The Return of the King its Best Picture Award at the 2003 Awards Ceremony, hosted by Andrew Johnston, chair of the organization at that time, who called it "a masterful piece of filmmaking." Reactions to changes in the films from the books | width = 350px | tstyle = font-size:100% | quoted = true | salign = right }} The film series provoked both positive and negative reaction from fans and scholars of the novels, and was sometimes seen as changing parts Tolkien felt thematically necessary in terms of characters, themes, events and subtlety. Some fans of the book who disagreed with such changes have released fan edits of the films such as The Lord of the Rings: The Purist Edition, which removed many of the changes to bring them closer to the original. It was rumoured that the Tolkien family became split on the series, with Christopher Tolkien and his son Simon Tolkien feuding over whether or not it was a good idea to adapt. Christopher has since denied these claims, saying, "My own position is that The Lord of the Rings is peculiarly unsuitable to transformation into visual dramatic form. The suggestions that have been made that I 'disapprove' of the films, even to the extent of thinking ill of those with whom I may differ, are wholly without foundation." He added that he had never "expressed any such feeling". In 2012, however, he described the films as having "eviscerated" the book, and criticized the resulting "commercialisation" of his father's work. Various changes to characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Arwen, Denethor, Faramir, Gimli, and Frodo, when considered together, were seen by some to alter the tone and themes found in the books. Several critics contend that the portrayal of women, especially Arwen, in the films is thematically faithful to (or compatible with) Tolkien's writings despite some differences. Wayne G. Hammond, a Tolkien scholar, said of the first two films that he found them to be "travesties as adaptations... faithful only on a basic level of plot" and that many characters had not been depicted faithfully to their appearance in the novel. Kirst, Sean. "Tolkien Scholar Stings "Rings" Films." Review of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. First published in the Syracuse Post-Standard, 4 February 2003. Janet Brennan Croft criticized the films using Tolkien's own terms "anticipation" and "flattening", which she used in critiquing a proposed film script. She contrasts Tolkien's subtlety with Jackson's tendency to show "too much too soon". Other critics have argued that Tolkien's characters were weakened and misinterpreted by their portrayal in the films. Changes to events, such as the Elves participating at the Battle of Helm's Deep, Faramir taking the hobbits to Osgiliath, and the deletion of the chapter "The Scouring of the Shire", are also seen as changing Tolkien's themes. Supporters of the series assert that it is a worthy interpretation of the book and that most of the changes were necessary. Many who worked on the series are fans of the book, including Christopher Lee, who (alone among the cast) had actually met Tolkien in person, and Boyens once noted that no matter what, it is simply their interpretation of the book. Jackson once said that to simply summarize the story on screen would be a mess, and in his own words, "Sure, it's not really The Lord of the Rings... but it could still be a pretty damn cool movie." Other fans also claim that, despite any changes, the films serve as a tribute to the book, appealing to those who have not yet read it, and even leading some to do so. The Movie Guide for The Encyclopedia of Arda (an online Tolkien encyclopedia) states that Jackson's films were exceptional since filming the whole story of The Lord of the Rings was probably impossible. This notion is partially supported by a review published in 2005 that otherwise criticized a lack of "faithfulness to Tolkien's spirit and tone." Douglas Kellner argues that the conservative community spirit of Tolkien's Shire is reflected in Jackson's films as well as the division of the Fellowship into "squabbling races". In a 2006 review, film theorist Kristin Thompson was critical about the fact that film studies were undertaken by literary researchers and about the frequent denigration of Jackson's work in the collected essays. Home media The first two films were released on standard two-disc edition DVDs containing previews of the next film. The success of the theatrical cuts brought about four-disc extended editions, with new editing, added special effects and music. The extended cuts of the films and the included special features were spread over two discs, and a limited collector's edition was also released. The Fellowship of the Ring was released on 12 November 2002, containing 30 minutes more footage, an Alan Lee painting of the Fellowship entering Moria, and the Moria Gate on the back of the sleeve; an Argonath-styled bookend was included with the Collector's Edition. The Two Towers, released on 18 November 2003, contained 46 minutes extra footage and a Lee painting of Gandalf the White's entrance; the Collector's Edition contained a Sméagol statue, with a crueller-looking statue of his Gollum persona available by order for a limited time. The Return of the King was released on 14 December 2004, having 52 minutes more footage, a Lee painting of the Grey Havens and a model of Minas Tirith for the Collector's Edition, with Minas Morgul available by order for a limited time. The Special Extended DVD Editions also had in-sleeve maps of the Fellowship's travels. They have also played at cinemas, most notably for a 16 December 2003 marathon screening (dubbed "Trilogy Tuesday") culminating in a late afternoon screening of the third film. Attendees of "Trilogy Tuesday" were given a limited edition keepsake from Sideshow Collectibles containing one random frame of film from each of the three movies. Both versions were put together in a Limited Edition "branching" version, plus a new feature-length documentary by Costa Botes. The complete series was released in a six-disc set on 14 November 2006. Warner Bros. released the trilogy's theatrical versions on Blu-ray in a boxed set on 6 April 2010. An extended edition Blu-ray box set was made available for pre-order from Amazon.com in March 2011 and was released on 28 June 2011. Each film's extended Blu-ray version is identical to the extended DVD version; the total running time is longer due to added credit sequence listing the names of "The Lord of the Rings fan-club members" who contributed to the project.Dellamorte, Andre (20 June 2011). "The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition Blu-ray Review ". Collider.com. Retrieved 21 September 2012.Fellowship of the Ring DVD box In 2014, brand new Blu-ray steelbook editions of the five-disc Extended Editions were released. The first, The Fellowship of the Ring, was released on 24 March 2014. The discs are identical to those found in the previous five-disc Blu-ray set. Legacy The release of the films saw a surge of interest in The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's other works, vastly increasing his impact on popular culture. The success of the films spawned numerous video games and many other kinds of merchandise. Effects on the film industry and tourism painted this Airbus A320 in The Lord of the Rings livery to promote The Return of the King in 2004.]] As a result of the series' success, Peter Jackson has become a major figure in the film business in the mould of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, in the process befriending some industry heavyweights like Bryan Singer and Frank Darabont. Jackson has since founded his own film production company, Wingnut Films, as well as Wingnut Interactive, a video game company. He was also finally given a chance to remake King Kong in 2005. The film was a critical and box office success, although not as successful as The Lord of the Rings series. Jackson has been called a "favourite son" of New Zealand. In 2004, Howard Shore toured with The Lord of the Rings Symphony, playing two hours of the score. Along with the ''Harry Potter'' films, the series has renewed interest in the fantasy film genre. Tourism in New Zealand is up, possibly due to its exposure in the series, with the country's tourism industry waking up to an audience's familiarity. In December 2002, The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition opened at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. As of 2007, the exhibition has travelled to seven other cities around the world. A musical adaptation of the book was launched in Toronto, Canada, in 2006, but it closed after mostly poor reviews. A shortened version opened in London, United Kingdom, in the summer of 2007. Legal disputes The legacy of The Lord of the Rings is also that of court cases over profits from the trilogy. Sixteen cast members ( , Jed Brophy, Mark Ferguson, Ray Henwood, Bruce Hopkins, William Johnson, Nathaniel Lees, Sarah McLeod, Ian Mune, Paul Norell, Craig Parker, Robert Pollock, Martyn Sanderson, Peter Tait and ) sued over the lack of revenue from merchandise bearing their appearance. The case was resolved out of court in 2008. The settlement came too late for Appleby, who died of cancer in 2007. Saul Zaentz also filed a lawsuit in 2004 claiming he had not been paid all of his royalties. The next year, Jackson himself sued the studio over profits from the first film, slowing development of the Hobbit prequels until late 2007. The Tolkien Trust filed a lawsuit in February 2008, for violating Tolkien's original deal over the rights that they would earn 7.5% of the gross from any films based on his works. The Trust sought compensation of $150 million. A judge denied them this option, but allowed them to win compensation from the act of the studio ignoring the contract itself. On 8 September 2009, the dispute was settled. The Hobbit prequel trilogy The success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy led to Jackson directing a trilogy of prequels based on Tolkien's children's book The Hobbit. The films, which were released between 2012 and 2014, used much of the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings, including Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom who reprised their roles. Although the Hobbit films were commercially successful, they received mixed reviews from critics. Video games Numerous video games were released to supplement the film series. They include: The Two Towers, Pinball, The Return of the King, The Third Age, ''The Third Age'' (GBA), Tactics, The Battle for Middle-earth, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king, The Lord of the Rings Online, Conquest, Aragorn's Quest, War in the North, Lego The Lord of the Rings, Guardians of Middle-earth, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. See also * ''The Hobbit'' (1977 film) * ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1978 film) * ''The Return of the King'' (1980 film) * List of longest films * List of films featuring miniature people Notes : : : : References External links * * * * * * Category:The Lord of the Rings (film series) Category:Adventure films by series Category:American epic films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Fictional-language films Category:Film series Category:High fantasy films Category:New Zealand films Category:New Line Cinema films Category:WingNut Films films Category:Film series introduced in 2001 Category:2000s fantasy films Category:Films directed by Peter Jackson Category:Films released in separate parts Category:American fantasy adventure films Category:Films scored by Howard Shore Category:Films shot in New Zealand Category:New Line Cinema franchises Category:Motion capture in film